Tulsa in space
by RenRajaram4ever
Summary: exactly what the titl says.
1. Chapter 1

A The Space Between Us fanfiction

Tulsa's POV

As the shuttle took off I felt the barely familiar feeling in the very pit of my stomach. But I shook off the uncomfortable feeling and just closed my eyes and pictured Gardner, his face bright and healthy again, his enlarged heart and loving heart fine and beating perfectly.

Gardner's POV

As I walked down the corridor Migele, a young man, only twenty three, walked to me. "Hey, Gardner, you hear?A new pod is coming in today. A few youngsters like us. You excited?" He asked, bouncing up and down and lifting high into the air.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, look, I've gotta go, my dad's waiting for me in the dining hall for lunch." I told him and walked a little faster. In reality my father wasn't waiting for me, but I wanted to get to my cabin so I could check the messages. I haven't gotten word from her in a month. The technology has improved both here and on Earth, so she should've been able to get in touch with me.

I got to my cabin to find my computer had received no insta-message. I sat on my bed in the wall in frustration, and laid my head back. I missed Tulsa so much. Her strange sense of humor, what she calls 'sarcasm'. Her light feathery touch, everything. We hadn't video chatted in over a year, I wasn't sure why, but we just hadn't. I;d changed a lot. I'm now twenty, and she's twenty two.

Believe it or not, I've actually grown. Now Im 6 3". Tallest person in East Texas. My dad is very short, and supposedly so was my mother, so I'm not sure where I got my height, but it must have been a recessive gene.

I shut my eyes and try not to let the frustration and loneliness without Tulsa swallow me. Finally, I have had enough of the self pity and begin my designs on the extension of East Texas. Over the last four years, the population has grown, as well as my abilities as an expert engineer, so I was tasked with developing the new industrial wing of the settlement. My father was employed to be a Exploration Developer, meaning he coordinates the missions on Mars.

Three hours into my work there was a rapsing knock on the door. "Open." I said and listened as the heavy metal sliding door flew up.

"Gee, the new shipment of recruits is in, we need you help to guide three of the cadets around the settlement complex, then it's dinner. Come on, put on your jumper." My dad says.

I hastily pull on my suit and follow him to the suiting bay to get into our mission suits.

The Nasa ship is landed on the new docking bay, fifteen astronauts stepping out of the ship and landing on the planet, their feet over compensating for the difference in gravity. "Okay new recruits, welcome to Mars! I need cadet three five and ten, thirteen and six to follow me to the depressurizer and then you can get out of those pesky suits and I can show you around East Texas. ALright, please follow me, don't go off trail. Now the rest of you, wait to be called by your guide. They will show you around the compound." My dad said and guided his group.

Another guide takes their pod and then I call my group.. "Ok, may I please have recruits one, two, eight,fourteen and nine, follow me." I told them and marched to the third East Texas entrance and decompression chamber.

We reached the compound and I opened the heavy latch. "Everybody, please wait for the oxygen to reach the levels of Earth, it will take a few minutes. Please stay in your suits." I tell them, going through the motions.

"Ok, please follow me." I told the newcomers, smiling as I did so.

I got out of my suit and hung it in the alcove labeled Gardner Elliot, and instructed the rest to put their suits in the small cubbies in the floor. I turn my back and play with the sleeve of my shirt.

"Alright everyone, now we are going to the-" I cut myself off when I turned around. "Oh my-" I'm cut off again only this time it wasn't me who did it, but her. My lips were suddenly in a tight lock and my hands went around her waist. We broke apart and I straightened and she dropped from her tip toes, due to our height difference.

"Gardner." She whispered, clutching my neck while I held onto her waist.

"Tulsa."

Tulsa's POV

As I hold onto Gardner, I don't cry, but I hold onto him and deftly run my hands through his hair.

The other four cadets wolf whistle as I kiss Gardner again and again, holding onto him. Sadly I haven't grown, like, at all, and apparently he has, because it's even harder to kiss since four years ago.

"I missed you." He muttered into my hair, picking me up, barley using any effort due to the lack of gravity, and then he added. "Not that I would tell you."

I smiled, kissed him, then pulled away, slapping him. "That's for trying to drown yourself, for leaving me behind, although you didn't have a choice, for making me love you so damn much." I told him and then shook my head again hugging him by the waist.

He laugh and hugs me back, squatting down so that he could rest his face on my shoulder. "You seem to be exhibiting what we call Disruptive Affective Disorder." He muttured. I must have looked confused as we pulled back but still had each other by the waist because he laughed again and clarified. "Mood swings."

Someone behind us laughed and I pulled away, keeping an arm still wrapped around his waist. "You think, try living with this little fiesty midget!" It was Granny who said it, a boy about twenty five that was a sloth, hence, Granny.

"I would gladly experience that." Gardner said, and kissed the top of my head,

"Four years has been too long." I said and nestled into his arms, pleased to feel his initial strength, not all weak from an enlarged heart. "It's good to see you all strong." I teased him and poked his flat stomach.

"And you are just as rude and abrasive as I remember." He chuckled.

"Love you too." I rolled my eyes.

"Alright guys, let me show you the dining hall. You will eat meals here. Everything is grown here. We don't have meat or um...what's it called?" He said looking to me. It took me a bit before I got what he meant.

"Oh. Sweetie, you're so cute, he's talking about Hamburgers, you should've seen him on Earth when he first tried it. It was like a toddler eating ice cream." I said to the rest of the group and looked back at Gardner, who had a blank, but adoring, expression on his face.

"Alright, well, we don't have that here. Now, last stop is the residential, where your cabins are." Gardner showed the other four cadets to their cabins and finally showed me mine. Which happened to be five cabins down from his own.

"Huh. Look at that." I said and smiled. I forcefully pushed him into my cabin. "Close." THe door shut and Gardner and I fell back on a white couch thing, all spiffy and clean.

"I love you." I whispered and pressed down on top of him, kissing up his jaw and them up to his mouth, using my tongue to pry open his lips, shocking him into submission. "I missed you so much." I told him and cuddled into is chest, turning on his side and snuggling.

"I missed you too Tulsa. So, so much." He leaned down and kissed my lips so hard that it kinda felt like he had practice.

"Gardner?" I asked, nervous, and insecure.

"Hmm?" He more vibrated than asked, and continued to kiss my neck from behind.

"How did you get so much better at kissing?" I wondered out loud and frowned.

"What? Oh, probably because I practiced on my pillow. Apparently other cadets have found me 'smooching' a pillow in my sleep. I blame you, you've gotten me addicted to your lovely lips." He said and I could feel him smirk into my neck as he kissed it.

I smiled and turned in his arms. "Earth sucks without you." I told him.

"Mmm Mars sucks without you. Although you've never been here before, by the time we have spent together before, I assume this planet is more enjoyable with you, similar to the way Earth was better whenever and wherever I was, so long as you were with me. Or I was with you, because I came to you, you didn't come to me." He said, mumbling and he sounded like he was falling asleep.

"Gardner, don't you think we should eat before we go to bed?" I asked, amused. He nodded. Suddenly my cabin door opened and I looked up.

"Gardner. You should eat. Your sugar levels are already low. Hello Ms. You should eat as well, your blood sugar is low, as well as judging by the figure, you are below the weight minimum for the Mars mission." THe annoying robot turned and I laughed. On the back of his head was a term that I'd taught him back on Earth. 'If you don't like it, don't watch it'. "My god Gardner, I love you." I told him and kissed him hard.

"Hmm maybe you should eat, your tiny. Privacy! PLease!" HE yelled at the robot and glared.

"Fine, Gardner, replace me with a woman. See how you manage without me." The robot backed out of the room.

Gardner smirked, and then looked back at me. "Mmm. Glad he's gone. FOrget food, I want to stay here."

Gardner POV

"Ah, you're a lazy bum aren't you?"

"Lazy bum?" I asked.

SHe just laughed and kissed me, "Oh um, you know what lazy means right? Well lazy bum just means that you're a lazy person." Tulsa explains.

"Oh."

I cuddled Tulsa to me, my long body curling around hers and holding the back of her head.

"Gardner, I know you're in there. Come out, there's a progression on your wing." I shot up from my spot, "Open" I see my father standing outside of the cabin. "Good to see you again Ms. Tulsa. Now, Gardner, I want you to show me the plans. They're thinking of entering the plans as new construction plans." I nodded.

"Sorry Tulsa, I have to go, you want to go see my cabin? After that we can go get some food at the hall and then go to mine and watch a movie, if you want." SHe nodded and I smiled. "Good. Come here." I pulled her in for a kiss and grabbed her wrist, tugging her down to the cabin.

I show both Tulsa and my father the plans, Tulsa looked impressed and my dad simply nodded. I take her down to the dining hall and greet the youngest female aboard East Texas. Or what used to be the youngest. "SHeilah, this is my...um...this is Tulsa, Tulsa this is my um...this is Sheliah. Hey Liah, can we purchase some plum cookies?" I asked, forcing myself through the awkwardness.

"Sure, but why do you need to buy 'em? Here, just take 'em." Liah said, I blushed, and Tulsa laughed.

"Oh man, Gardner, what is with you and surrounding yourself with 'resourceful' women? Huh? Ah come on cutie, let's just grab the grub and bolt. Thanks Sheliah." Tulsa said, using the hand that wasn't clasped in mine and grabbed the small cellophane bag of cookie-biscuits made with plum extract and white synthetic chocolate chips.

"Gosh Gardner, you are just so adorable, still flustered, I thought we'd been through this." Tulsa smiled up at me.

It was twelve thirty in the morning when I heard a rattling above the door to my cabin. I shrugged it off and figured it was an air ventilation problem that I would need to fix in the morning. Just as I'd closed my eyes to get back to a shallow rem sleep, when I heard the ventilation grate hit the floor, dropping from fifteen feet.

"Hey darling." Tulsa dropped down into my cabin and crawled into my bed, lifitng the silky blanket much like the sleeping bag we shared on Earth. "I was bored, and cold, and wanted to be here. Take me in?" She whispered into my ear. I opened my arms and she giggled and curled into me, her body fitting into mine. I tugged her closer and wrap her up tight in the blanket.

"Love you." I said and tried to sleep.

"SHut up, go to bed." SHe said, sweeping her long hair out of my face because her back is pressed into my chest.

"You know, it's adorable how scrawny you are." SHe whispered and I just nodded.

"Mhmh, I'm adorable, come now, let's sleep." And I blanked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I got some positive effects from my first story Tulsa in Space, so I figured I'd keep going. I will be writing one shots about Tulsa and Gardner, and they'll all be random, and with no particular timeline. I want to thank Kyleeadams123 for the awesome review! BTW REQUEST!**

 **~Ren**

Gardner laid on his bed with Tulsa, her head resting on his chest. His hand was running up and down her bare arms and shoulders.

"Why is your skin so soft?" He murmured into her hair.

He felt her give off a startled grunt before feeling her mouth curve into a smile against his smooth chest.

"Lotion." She said and looked up at him.

"No lotion I've ever come across smells like you." He looked down at her and brushed away a lock of long blonde hair.

"Well, you do live on Mars." She chuckled and sat up, him following her and leaning against a wall.

He crossed his legs and she contently sat in between them, leaning back against him. He wrapped his long arms around her middle and moved the hair to kiss down her neck.

"Are you okay? Being up here, I mean, with me?" He nuzzled himself into her hair. Truth be told, he missed her. A lot, but he was concerned that she didn't want Mars, that she would become angsty, and they would part again.

She turned in his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck. It was easier now that their height difference was shortened because of their postion, but he was still a good head taller than her, so it was naturally quite a task. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. I want to be here. With you. Not that I'd tell you any of that." She smiled up at him.

He nodded. "I love you Tulsa." He whispered to her, changing their position so she was on top of him.

She looked up at him. "I love you too." She whispered it, quiet, reserved, fragile. She brushed hair from out of his eyes and leaned down to kiss him. She hummed slightly, and smiled as she felt his hand rest heavily on her back.

When they broke he smiled at her. "Did I ever mention you taste like bitter grapes?" He asked innocently. Tulsa furrowed her brow at him.

"Where did that come from? Do you just blurt out everything you say?" She looked down at him as he looked up, slightly confused.

"I apologize. Did I offend you? I did not mean to." He looked a bit crestfallen. He didn't like hurting people he loved.

"Just…you're just…you, I guess." She smiled lightly at him.

Their rapidly heating up kisses were interrupted by an incoming call on Gardner's computer. He grunted and Tulsa slowly pulled away. "We should probably get that." She whispered in his ear. HE groaned.

"Why do you people always interrupt when you're the most beautiful?" He asked, and grabbed his laptop off his desk. Tulsa reached down and grabbed the cadet uniform Gardner had been wearing. She slipped it on then proceeded to sit next to him as he answered. He cuddled her near and kissed her cheek, answering the call.

It was Kendra. "Hey Gardner-and Tulsa?" She quirked an eyebrow at the two of them and smiled.

"Hey Kendra, what've you been up to?" Tulsa asked, scooting up a little more and smiling at the woman who had taken her in.

"Just wanted to see if I could get in contact with you before you were there for long, but I actually have to ah…go, yeah! So talk to you later!" And she hung up.

"That was awkward." Tulsa said, then looked up at Gardner.

"Want to watch a movie? There were these Greek Scientists that came by last week and dropped off a movie about Romeo and Juliet." He smiled, thinking about the wonderful movie.

"Fine, but let me put on some clothes." She changed into some calf-leggings and a huge baggy sweatshirt with NASA on the front while he pulled on sweats and a t-shirt. "Now, let's watch some TV, Romeo." She smiled.

"But I am not Romeo, he is Romeo." Gardner pointed to the screen. Tulsa laughed and leaned back into him.

"You're lucky you're adorable and I love you." She titled her head as he kissed her neck.

"Yes I am, though I don't understand how that exactly applies to my earlier statement." He frowned in confusion.

"Don't worry, just…watch your show."


	3. Chapter 3

Missed him

As Gardner was jetted off into space Tulsa's now wall-less heart broke. She'd been strong for him because she had to, but she was so hurt to be left behind again. She finally loved someone and now she lost him, all because his heart was too d*** big. You wouldn't think that could be a bad thing, but no, the longer she kept him, the faster he was dying. She couldn't stand the thought of him no longer existing, him no longer being there, so she let him go.

After he left he didn't cry; no she would never cry, never let the world have that power over her; but she hurt. Jeez, she hated that she let him in. How _spectacularly_ stupid of her! But in her heart she knew it was worth it. _Gardner_ was worth it.

He really was adorable. Sweet, and kind; innocence radiated off of him. He was so funny in his oblivion, and he was such a romantic. The last part was kind of strange for Tulsa, she wasn't particularly comfortable with it, because HECK! This world wasn't exactly a romantic place; but she appreciated the effort he put in. He was so determined to give Tulsa the best in the whole Universe. He wanted _her_. A damaged, hurt girl with baggage. The best part about him was he had issues too, and that bonded them.

She loved him, and missed him so much. It made it harder to play her song when all she could think of was how he thought it was beautiful; but that pushed her, pushed her to made because, hey if made Gardner happy, then she would do all she could, because she missed him so much, she would take any connection to him she could.

It was hard for her, hard to know that he had come to Earth given her all he could, but right now, she couldn't give him anything back. She'd never felt this kind of attachment with anyone, always distant and anticipating the next liar, the next house that's not a home, waiting until she could get out of dodge and live free, break away from all the _suckage_ she knew as her life. But stupid freaking Gardner broke her down and made her love him, him with his sterile clean smell, him with his brilliant smile and excitement, his unusual cleverness and obliviousness, all wrapped into one. He loved her, for her. And it was an amazing feeling.

Jeez, she missed him too much for her liking. Missed all of him.

She hugged jacket he'd left on Earth almost losing all of his scent. She'd see him soon. Four months in space down, three more to go.


	4. Chapter 4

The fist time Gardner and Tulsa met from her eyes

She was jamming out to her music, ignoring the crappy hole of a school she attended. It was incredibly annoying now that the one person who didn't constantly rub her the wrong way, had abandoned all communication, and for once she felt like being alone wasn't such a good thing after all. She'd always been alone, totally independent, but she found herself enjoying his virtual company; but then the jerk left her.

Tulsa was anticipating calculus, secretly hoping for a response from him like she always did, always let down, and yet she still tried.

"Tulsa!" She heard her name but ignored it.

Suddenly she looked up to see a crazily tall boy that looked innocent and young for his age. (As in, mentally young, just want to clear that up) He had on sunglasses, a little trendier than she would have expected. She knew who he was. She slapped him, a lot wimpier than he deserved.

"What was that for?!" He yelled.

"You jerk! You ghosted me!"

After a short conversation with Gardner, she broke into a rather random thought. "You're taller than I thought you'd be." She told him and hid a smile when he responded with:

"And you're meaner than I thought you'd be." She had to admit, it was a pretty good comeback. She might of mildly thought it was vaguely cute.

As she sat in class she thought about him. She was cuter in real life than over the internet. His eyes were incredibly blue, which was a crazy match to his dark hair and pale skin. He was unique, that was for sure. And something about him was off, different, strange, and for some reason it was attractive. He seemed so young, sweet, innocent, like all he could see in the horrible world, was the good and beautiful and none of the bad.

She decided then and there, that she was going to remain detached from him, she couldn't afford to risk her plans and weigh herself down with a boy who obviously knew nothing about the real world. She'd just have to…to not let him get to her.

 **Kay, so I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I don't particularly like it, so I figured I'd get some other opinions. Don't worry, better stuff to come.**


	5. Chapter 5

Tulsa's story

Gardner and Tulsa sat together on his bunk in his cabin, watching a movie about an orphan named Annie. She was startled when he paused the show, and shifted so he had a bit of distance between them.

"Please tell me what happened. When you were younger, I mean. You can trust me." He said it quietly, rubbing her arm with his thumb, and looking down at her with his wide, blue, puppy dog eyes.

"Alright well…" She paused, feeling uncomfortable, and distressed. Not by her adorable boyfriend, but by the harsh memories of her life before she met Gardner.

 _Joe Lesia was a seventeen rebel; raised by Christians and struggling against the pressure of being a perfect daughter. Eventually she decided to drop the façade and 'do her own thing'. Luckily her parents were kind, good people, and figured it was a phase, and let her try and express herself. Unfortunately Joe took it too far. She crept about with a man more than twice her age and became pregnant while still in High school. She decided to leave home, and moved to New York. She refused to work, and lived on the streets. That's where she met a him. Jon Russell was twenty, and she fell in love with him. By the time she met Jon, she was already seven months pregnant. He promised to take care of her and the baby, but both he and Joe knew it was an empty promise._

 _Joe gave birth two months later, under a bridge, in the middle of a hurricane. The baby was a tiny baby girl, with a full head of blonde hair. Jon helped Joe through the birth, but refused to take her to the hospital due to a paranoia cause by drug use. Jon actually did take Joe and the baby, who they named Reckie Russell._

 _Jon took Joe and Reckie around the country after he got bored with New York, and joined a druggie group that traveled around the country in a dirty van. For the first three years of her life Reckie wasn't too much of a nuisance, but when Jon and Joe wanted to join a cult of sorts, there was a strict 'no children' rule._

 _When they stopped in Oklahoma on their way to the 'camp', Jon convinced Joe that Reckie would be safer without them, and that they couldn't possibly handle a baby, though Joe hardly put up a fight._

 _They spotted a tiny Social Services office and Joe picked up Reckie, telling her they were going to get cheese, Reckie's favorite food. Jon waited impatiently in the van._

 _Joe set down the little girl and told her she was going to go talk to the lady at the front before dashing away. Reckie waited there, for three hours, patiently before calling out for her 'mommy and daddy'._

 _When the lady noticed Reckie, she asked what the little girl's name was, but found the tiny blonde wouldn't speak. So she called her Tulsa._

 _Eventually, about a year later, Tulsa trusted the woman enough to talk, and ask her to call Joe Lesia. When they did, they got directed to Joe's mother Thyme. Thyme told the story of Joe and Jon, but refused to take custody of Tulsa, saying that she had enough on her plate._

 _Thus, Tulsa quickly learned to not trust, not to get attached, and certainly not to love someone and get comfortable with anyone. She learned to be quick, fight and flighty, more flighty than flight though. She learned not to unpack her bags because she'd only bounce in two months. She learned not to try to make friends, not to trust, and never ever tell anyone her story, because they'd create a reoccurring act._

As she finished Gardner looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Tulsa. I will never leave, never again." He muttered it and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

"It's not a big deal, you know. No problem, it was the past, right?" She shoved him away, but he wouldn't let go.

"I can tell it is a big deal. I know you wanted to give the world a chance, like I said before your music shows that, but before you can do that, you have to heal, and sometimes the hardest thing to do is heal; but if you let me help, we can do it together. You healed me, let me return the favor."

He pulled her into her chest and cuddled her close, laying down with her as he felt a single, warm tear drop onto the t-shirt he was wearing. He'd never seen her cry. She tried to hide her sob, but she couldn't and he pulled her closer. Hugging her so that she knew he'd always be there for her; he was secretly a bit pleased, pleased that he got to be the one to catch the tear and dry it. He'd always dry it for her, do anything for her, because that was the least she could possibly deserve.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello my dear followers! I'm back with an update! Hallelujua, right? Anywho I just hve to say, I have te best reviewers in the world! I am well aware that there are still very few fics for this fandom, but I am still honored you all chose to read mine. Anywho, I want to thank a guest rviewer who brought this to my attention; I am telling you now, I will not be writing prono or anything like that! The reason I added some suggestions of intimacy is because it was hinted at in the movie. I repeat, THERE WILL BE NO SEX IN THIS STORY. Yes, there may but som suggestion of it, but there won't b any actual sex, so thank!**

 **~Ren**

Tulsa was working on a system for watering in the green house bay. Gardner was completing some trivial tasks, like repairing a broken spout for water. He was pleased to be working with her, or at least near her. He liked having her around.

He heard a metal snapping sound, then shouting, and he quickly turned; only to see his beloved plummeting to the cat walk fifty feet beneath her. The hoist and pulley had broken and sent her tumbling to the ground.

Gardner leapt over the railing blocking him from her. He ran to her as she collapsed on the ground, her body shaking, before slowing. She was in shock, and as he reached her, she was gasping out a sound. Not quite a name, but not quite meaningless either. He crawled to her and cradled her to his chest, her hoodie pulling up to reveal a bruise that was beginning to grow, only it looked less like a bruise, and more like blood, pooling inside her body.

"Gardn-er," She sputtered it out, and it sounded heavy and pained.

"I'm right here, you're okay, we're getting you immediate medical attention. You will be fine." He told her pushing back a stray stand of hair. He cuddled her closer as she ground out a limp laugh.

"Gardner, I-I'm n-not ok-kay. Ugh m-m-man, this s-s-sucks, d-don't it?" She coughed and looked up at him but yelped when her pulled her closer. "I-I think m-my n-neck is broken…" It got quieter, and she looked so tired, exhausted from the pain.

"It will be okay. We have excellent medical services here. East Texas is two times more advanced than Earth, did you know that?" He told her, stroking her hair and smiling lightly. She gasped in pain as her body shivered. "This isn't fair. You can't leave; you just arrived. You're supposed to stay here, forever, like in the movies, where we grow old, and your slap is weak, but I pretend it hurt to pacify you. No, you won't die." He said it so firmly, so unlike Gardner, that if she could have, she would have laughed.

"B-bud, l-l-life isn't f-f-fair." She smiled bit but frowned as the black began to seep into her peripheral view.

"No no no, Tulsa, stay awake. Ok? You'll be fine, right, you're invincible." -

"G-g-guess n-not." She smiled weakly and fluttered. Her stomach suddenly felt very empty, her limbs numb and her body colder than Antarctica. She'd never felt this way.

"No, Tulsa, you saved me, now I get to save you."

"T-h-hat'd b-be great, c-c-could ya' h-hu-rry it u-up please?" The stuttering slightly slowed.

Gardner hugged her closer, trying to be mindful of her injuries. It wasn't easy, there were so many of them.

Tulsa wanted to cling to him, but she couldn't get any part of her body to move. He seemed to sense her urgency as he tugger her closer, whimpering as she grew limper, paler, broke her heart to know she'd leave him, just like his mother did, but it broke his heart even more to know that she wouldn't be ok.

He felt it, deep inside him, that she wasn't ok.

He didn't have much medical training, only field safety and the basics, but he'd discovered that one of the East Texas inhabitors liked medical shows, so he watched them. And he saw there was a large bruise forming on her abdomen; which more than likely meant internal bleeding.

Tulsa looked down. "W-well that d-d-doesn't look right." She joked half heartedly, and smiling up at him despite the pain.

He laughed and smiled but couldn't hide the fact that he knew the inevitable. The horrible, painful inevitable that Tulsa had already faced.

Then she started singing, the stutter gone in her rever.

 _Break my heart_

 _Break my hands_

 _You can take_

 _Anything_

 _But my plans_

 _I've got big things_

 _To do_

 _You can laugh_

 _Have your fun_

 _I'll be standing right here when you're done_

 _I've got big things to do_

 _Just because you don't see us  
Doesn't mean that we don't exist  
Sometimes the smallest light  
Shines so bright  
Yeah, sometimes the smallest light shines so bright_

 _I got heart, it's enough  
It's the only thing left that they can't pull apart  
And when they try, I'll fly_

 _I can't win, there's a cost_

 _You can't lose_

 _What you've already lost_

 _I've got big thin-_

Suddenly she stopped singing and he looked down to see the light out of her eyes, the song out of her throat, the life out of her body.

She was gone. Out of his life while singing her song. _Their_ song. He couldn't handle it.

He broke. His sould, his heart. His mind. All of it, broken and shattered and horribly ruined.

By the time the medical team found them, Gardner was shaking in shock, his body quaking violently with loss and denial.

The medics tried to take her body, and he ddin't really fight back; he wouldn't know how. But he clung to her, not wanting her to be dead, not wanting her to go.

But eventually, as we all do, he had to let go.


End file.
